“Blood Bound”
2012 Copyright All Rights Reserved
Chapter 28
When Shelby opened her eyes, the first thing that she noticed was how incredibly dry the back of her throat was. When she tried to swallow she realized it wasn't just dry, it actually burned. It felt almost as if someone had scalded it with boiling hot water, making the unfamiliar pain that much more intense.
“Wa... water,” she croaked, trying to pull herself up.
Leo was at her side in an instant. He touched her cheek and searched her half-lidded eyes. There was nothing but sincere concern written in the depths of his face. “You’re finally awake,” he commented, his voice barely above a whisper. He had been so worried about her, knowing that since she was only a newborn, she needed to feed. He had already planned to wake her himself if she hadn't wakened by the time the sun set. “How is your head my love? Does it still hurt?”
Shelby brought her hand up to her neck, desperately needing something to soothe it and tried to once again sit up. “Thirsty,” she stammered. “I’m just so thirsty.”
After watching her struggle, Leo slid over to her side and helped her sit up. “You need to feed Shelby. You’ve been out for three days. That is far too long after the stress the summons put on your body.”
Shelby turned towards Leo, her face scrunched up in confusion. “Three days? Are you seriously telling me that I have been unconscious for three whole days?”
“Yes,” Leo agreed solemnly. “Alex had to put you under so that you could heal from the summons he sent to you. For some reason," Leo scowled, "One that I have yet to understand, he seemed to think that I needed to be put through some sort of test and that test was you my sweet.” He palmed her cheeks with both of his hands and turned her towards him. “I’m sorry,” he told her, guilt swimming in his eyes. “I am so damn sorry that you had to experience that. If I could have taken the pain from you, I would have. I would have soaked up every drop of it, if it meant that you wouldn't have had to suffer. The last thing that I ever want is to see you be forced to endure that kind of pain again.”
Shelby believed him. She believed every word that he said because the honesty that he spoke with was defined clearly in his tone. “It’s okay,” she said hoarsely. “I’m fine now, just very… thirsty.”
On cue, there was a knock at the door. Leo glanced over her shoulder and nodded his head. “That would be your dinner,” he announced, already moving to get off the bed.
Shelby was too exhausted to formulate any kind of response so she decided to lay her head back against the pillows and close her eyes for several minutes while it was blessedly quiet. Lying there, she inhaled deeply to see if she could pinpoint what kind of dinner Leo would have brought up to her. She was thinking that a nice tomato brusque sounded pretty good right about now with a tall glass of refreshing ice water to wash it all down afterwards. Just thinking about the cool water as it slid down the back of her throat left her mouth watering for more. The problem was, she didn’t smell anything. Even with her new sense of vampire super smell, all she could decipher was Leo’s individual scent which was tantalizing to say the least, her own scent and she wrinkled her nose as she picked out an overpowering lemon scent probably reminiscent of some sort of cleaner.
“Open your eyes my sweet, I have a surprise for you.”
Shelby did as she was told and once again tried to push herself up. And once again, the ever attentive Leo was there, fluffing her pillows and doing his best to make sure she was comfortable. "Are you comfortable?"
Shelby looked up at him and offered a weak smile. "Yes," she said, wondering where the food was. "At least as comfortable as I can be, " she added subconsciously touching her throat and feeling like it was on fire.
Leo turned towards the door and called out. "Come in, she's ready now."
She turned her attention to the door and was surprised when a twenty something year old girl walked through it. She was paler than most and wore a plain navy blue slip dress that hit her at mid thigh. It was nothing fancy and she even had her auburn colored hair pulled back in a simple pony tail. She could just barely be a year or two older than herself, Shelby mused and she wasn't carrying a dinner tray.
Leo stepped out of the way. "Over here," he gestured towards Shelby.
The young girl slowly made her way towards the bed. She kept her head bent down and didn't meet either Shelby nor Leo's gaze. Hesitantly, she sat down on the side of the bed and tilted her neck to the side, offering it to Shelby.
At first Shelby wasn't sure what to think and then it all sort of clicked. "What is this?" she asked and turned to Leo. Her stomach was already turning over as it was so obvious by what it was meant to be.
"You need to feed," he said as if it was the most normal thing to do in the world. And maybe in his eyes it was but to Shelby, it wasn't right. She couldn't do it. "She is a blood slave, she enjoys the high that she gets from the bite. You don't have to drain her Shelby but you need to feed directly from the source. You're starving."
Shelby closed her eyes and took several long, deep breaths. Leo was right about one thing , she was starving. Starving so much that she could hear the girls heart beating rhythmically in her chest. The beats seemed to echo in time in her head and it was driving her crazy. What this girl was offering her was a temptation that she was sorely struggling to abstain from.
The biggest problem was that Shelby was scared to death that once she started to feed, as thirsty as she was, she wouldn't have any control. Leo said that she didn't have to kill the girl, but she wasn't confident enough in herself to say that once she started, she would be able to stop.
"I'm not biting her," she screamed in outrage and made a weak attempt to get off the bed.
"You need food and you will eat Shelby. Your health is my only concern right now. This is not up for discussion." Leo took an intimidating step forward and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Now enough of the nonsense, and feed Shelby."
Shelby narrowed her eyes in warning. "No!"
Leo took one more step so that he now towered over the two girls. What struck Shelby odd was the fact that the other girl just sat quietly beside of her with her head cocked to the side like a sacrificial lamb without muttering a single word.
"I don't want to have to force you but I will if I must. You need to feed Shelby," he said, his voice softening. Leo pushed the girl closer to Shelby, so close that the pulse in her neck was too much for a starving newborn to ignore. "Come on, be a good girl and take what you need. I would offer you myself but you need human blood to completely heal.
Shelby zeroed in on the girls neck. She wasn't even really seeing the girl anymore, all she saw was the tiny blue vein pumping hard just beneath her translucent skin. "Please," she begged Leo, "Don't make me do this. You know how I feel."
A single blood red tear slid down her cheek but Leo wouldn't budge. Not on this. "And I know how I feel my sweet. I know how much that I love you and need you to be strong for me. This is one time I can not give in."
Holding the girl still with one hand, Leo nudged Shelby forward with the other. 'Feed.' He sent the one word silent command into her head. 'Feed for me.'
Unable to resist any longer, Shelby felt her incisors begin to elongate. The fierce burning in her throat multiplied. Her dark beaded eyes locked onto the pulse point in the girls neck and before she could think twice about it, she struck. She struck hard and fast, sinking her fangs into the girls skin as easily as if she was cutting through melted butter.
The cool rush of the red liquid gave her immediate relief. She moaned at the sweet taste as it tickled her taste-buds and rejuvenated her body. Drinking from Leo was heaven, but this... this was euphoric. She could feel the girls life force racing through her own veins. She moaned and in the background she heard, the other girl moan as well.
"Shelby, that's enough." Leo warned.
Shelby heard Leo speaking to her but she couldn't pull back. Not yet. She needed just a little more.
"Shelby!" Leo said louder this time, his tone inflecting that authoritative annotation that he likes to use at times. That same authority that she was beginning to not like.
"Shelby," Leo jerked his bride back when he saw the blood slaves body go limp. If he didn't stop her now, then she would kill the girl and Shelby would never forgive him.
"You have to stop," he said, pushing her back on the bed. Leo grabbed the unconscious girl and quickly swiped his tongue over the pin pricks that Shelby left in her neck to stop the bleeding. She still had a pulse... barely.
Standing back up, Leo spun around when he heard the warning hiss.
"Mine!" Shelby declared, her voice raw and cannibalistic.
He held up his hands. "Sweetheart, your not thinking. You're in blood lust," he reminded her. "Just try and breathe through it. Slowly."
Shelby's predatory gaze slipped to her quarry lying still in the floor. She could still taste her in her mouth. She needed more. "Mine," she growled and lifted her head to Leo. "Mine!"
Leo shook his head and slowly moved towards her. There was no reasoning with her in this state, he needed to offer himself to cool the blood lust. He held up his wrist and unleashed a claw, slicing through his own skin. "Here," he said, offering it up to her. "Drink this."
Shelby scrunched her eyes closed. All she could think about was how sweet that girl had tasted on her tongue. She didn't want his offering, she wanted her.
When Shelby opened her eyes again, Leo saw her intent. "Shit!" he cursed and just as she dove for the girl in the floor, he intercepted her, tossing her back on the bed. Straddling above her, he grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them down to the bed. "Shelby! Listen to me, you have to come out of it."
Shelby thrashed her head back and forth. Her eyes were glazed over and a trail of red blood dribbled down her chin. She let out a screech that played hell on the ear drums and had Leo wincing while he held on to her even tighter. "Shelby, snap out of it!" He ordered. "I will not let you drain that girl dry."
Shelby wasn't listening. She couldn't see past the haze of the blood lust. With one heave, she felt the necklace heat on her skin and hefted Leo clear across the room. He landed against the wall, destroying a small wooden end table before sliding to the floor.
"What the hell?" he muttered, pushing himself up. He was over a hundred years old, she should have never been able to overpower him like that. Then he remembered the consecration necklace. It was protecting her from him.
Glancing across the room he saw Shelby hovering over the blood slave, her teeth firmly entrenched in the girls neck. She was glaring back at him, daring him to try and take her quarry from him.
Damn," he muttered and was already preparing himself for round two. He would do whatever he had to do in order to prevent her from killing an innocent. She would hate herself come morning when she was back to her loving self. It was unfortunate that the bewitching necklace did it's job when it came to protecting her from him but what about when she needed protection from herself. Where the hell was the power then?
"Shelby, love," he drawled out, steel determination on his face as he stalked towards her. "I hate to be the rain on your parade but I need you to put the girl down and take a step back." He said with all the calm that he could muster. Her eyes dilated and she matched his determination with one of her own and that's when he knew that he had his hands full. "Alright," he murmured, and rolled his shoulders back once. Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way," he said and lunged in her direction.
.